Putting The Music Together

So you've got the music, you want to kick-start your Latin scene, you'd like to DJ, but you're holding back because you don't think you know the music well enough. We all go through that. You never really know what works and what doesn't, until you do it for real.

PerfectPitch is designed to help you out. You will make mistakes, but with PP you're unlikely to absolutely bomb out (if you're still not confident, try it out on some friends first). So, here's how PP works:

1. Set up the night with a main thread playing accessible grade two songs;
2. Add variation by playing grade one and three pieces once in a while;
3. Find out what proportions of salsa and merengue suits your guests and if they respond to other rhythms;
4. Add consistency by playing similar rhythm types and song styles in sets of two to four. People are more likely to get up and dance if they feel that the next song is one that they're going to like;
5. I tend to play songs that are either similar in feel or quite different altogether. My crowds tend to like the contrast as opposed to wishy-washy in betweens.

PerfectPitch works well for us and is an excellent safety net for our DJs-in-training. However it cannot replace a person who knows the music and how to put it together.

You may be tempted to compose a night solely of grade three songs. It doesn't necessarily follow that the night would be dynamite, because it doesn't account for the ebb, flow, and energy in the club atmosphere. There are many instances where a grade two song goes better after a grade three song, than another grade three song.

And how you group the sets and move from one theme to another? The exploration of songs within groups and their relatedness is covered under PP for Music Enthusiasts.